Queen's note: I'm back! Throwing world building and random survivors everywhere!
Welcome to the Wasteland
Chapter Twenty Two:
Taking Concord, again?
It was, in a few words, way too early.
Not that it was going to stop anyone, they had their rest and a predawn nap. Napping surprisingly well under Valory's watchful care. The field had plenty of cover, no bugs and no fire.
No clues given to any of the surviving raiders in town about what was about to happen.
The humans were laying down in groups of two, having to share a blanket to combat the morning chill. Resting for an hour or so while waiting for the right time. When the world tilted from hazy grays to proper dawn light, and their eyes adjusted.
Valory nudged awake everyone, starting with Lana and Preston's bundle. All the while humming in a subsonic way to make sure the humans stayed calm. There was a muted excitement in them. The matriarch amused that most did a few near silent push-ups and sit-ups without their gear on, to help wake up fully before leaving their safe space behind the museum.
The big deathclaw moved into the town first, finding what was left of the line of dead Deegan had left in the middle of the street. Just like Moon Ridge had said they were, though it was impressive that the smell of human rot was just a bad rotting meat smell.
Valory stood up to her full height in the middle of the cross road, in front of Megan's old home. Listening intently as well as scenting for trouble while the humans fanned out to check the first few buildings all around the museum. Blake, Jacky and Lana slipped inside to check the museum itself. Making sure the food stores and the plants inside were all still safe and watered.
It was a methodical but long morning to check each building. Down the main road and around anything that looked like it was disturbed recently. A few feral ghouls were found, quickly killed and put in graves that Valory dug out. As well as skeletons, for now left there, and then at the end Preston found a few people.
Bound, gagged and on the down slide off some sort of chem, were the likely to-be hostages. Only they were in a strange place, hidden in the upper floors of the bank so Deegan had likely not realized they were there. Their group only came to check on the washing machines and found the captives.
They were not stripped, something Preston was thankful for. Not just that they had some dignity, but also the distinctive Minutemen jackets were only tossed aside, that helped identify most. They were not from Preston's old company, but he recognized them from the other group that came to Quincy as well…
As Lana was helping someone in the back, Preston felt his heart lurch realizing he did know some of them personally. At least three. Those he feared dead, that had been separated from his group back in Lexington with the chaos of the Radstorm and hyperactive feral ghouls running around.
Two men he recognized from Quincy, were they following after his group?
"Preston," Blake's voice jarred the young commander out of his shock. "Grab my pack, I need to wrap this young man's arm, I don't think it's broken, but it needs to be wrapped."
Preston shook himself and moved to grab the bag, coming to help his fellow minutemen. As well as a few settlers, recognizing signs of radiation sickness in them all. Not too surprising as it was a common tactic for raiders to make captives sick, "They don't seem too far into radiation sickness."
"Not too much, but," Lana forced open one man's eyes, shining her light in his face and the eye. "They are definitely drugged with something, looks like a high dose of Med-X here."
"And here," Clare added, looking up from one of the younger women after cutting the rope knot for the bonds around the girl's feet and around one of the heavy desks. "Do we have room for them at the farm?"
"It'll be tight," Blake glanced at Lana, "But we have some room and safety available. On 'theme' so to say." The man snorted, finishing wrapping the arm of who he was helping, the joints likely spread but the smaller gash still needed covered.
"We'll have to improvise some more beds, but there should be enough mats I can harvest of the moss." Lana nodded, understanding what was meant, catching the capped canister marked as 'Addictol' that Preston tossed over from where he was checking the raider left supplies as well. "At least having a pillow for people. How do we get them all down in the bunker? The hatch would be hard to do even with Noel, Jack and Jackie helping."
Jacky hummed from where he was caring a young man out of the dark prisoner room, away from the fear stink and smell of uncontrolled bladder stained rugs. He had to shift to keep the young man's head from lulling and hitting the floor. "I would be worried about this happening. That drop and the ladder?"
"The hike to the main entrance would be too much for them." Lana fussed, getting one of her spare inhaler bases to use the pre-war drug suppressant. She made a mental note to somehow get some active charcoal for people to eat at this rate. "Even sobered up, they look as thin as you Preston."
Preston made a face, trying not to show how hard it was that he and Clare had to work together to carry one person out to the other room. Easier to see how to help in the upper lobby room, to see what needed done, let the people sober up and really rest for a bit. Preston was glad they almost all had canteens of water to help. Clare did pause to step into a bathroom to test and find the water still worked, but had to run a few minutes to get clear.
"I know how to do it." Jake spoke up, interrupting Preston realizing how pristine the inside of the bank really was. Dusty, with aging paint but it was still neat and intact. "We needed to get it out anyway."
"What do you mean?" Clare came back out, the three faucets still on behind her to flush out water into something clear. Her personal rad meter was in the middle sink to measure the levels.
Jake set down a blond hair man in the lobby, the minutemen Lana had been helping, Moving some of the desks farther aside with the woman and then paused, looking at her. "The wagon, Jacky and I can get it back together, and we just have to modify the pull…yoke thing."
"Yoke." Lana affirmed, thinking for a moment before brightening up. "I can get Buck and run back to get his harness. It's a bit different from his saddle and straps. Mary is out of town, waiting for the all clear sign. I taught her how to get up on Buck."
Clare smiled over at the shorter woman as she paused once the rescued people were settled to rest. Or sober up. "You still have that flare?"
"Yeah," Lana nodded, glancing around hesitating a moment before Jacky stood up.
"We'll be fine," Preston reassured, "I'll stay with them and make sure everyone can respond in a bit."
"We'll see if there's any more of the addictol, and some rad-away." Jake added as he stretched his back, "Darla was setting up to make some more at the Co-Op."
"Still be careful in case any Raiders survived." Preston warned and worried, but he was grabbed to help Blake clean and wrap another older wound on one of the new Minutemen.
"We will," Lana promised, leaving her bag there for now, but headed out with the two taller scarred men, "Yell out a window if you guys need help."
"Oh, and there's a good amount of solid small trash cans around." The taller Jacky added on the way out, stooping to pick up one of the office trash cans. Setting it on the edge of the desk, grinning as he left last as he heard Blake giving a swear. Likely just then remembering the biggest side effect of addictol.
The taller man looked over at his brother, and the young woman as they started to grin once safely out in the hall. "I take it I'm not the only one who realized that huh?"
"Gods no," Jake shook his head.
Lana winced a bit in guilt, but she was nodding, "I like helping people, but… in the last 30 hours I was covered in birthing fluids, blood, more blood and infection pus… I don't want to add vomit to it."
"We're definitely getting clothes washed in the basement tonight." Jake said firmly, holding the door to the stairs open for the other two as the first semi-distant sound of a person was starting to dry heave. He added in a stage whisper, nudging his brother and following after Lana, "Quiet, and quickly flee!"
Jacky laughed as Lana bounded down a flight, but paused to take the rest of the stairs safely to let them catch up. She shifted her bow off her back, notching an arrow but stayed relaxed for the most part as they made it back to the dimly lit main lobby.
"Did you notice that this building is in really good shape?" Lana asked as she stopped in the middle of the lobby, looking around at the light that filtered in from the boarded up windows. "Did Megan keep it up like in the museum?"
"Maybe," Jacky considered it, checking his pistol over, as his brother brought the hunting rifle around. "She said before she did not go out much, she stayed very, very safe over the decades."
"She was the one to tell us about the working washers here."
"True… Well, I know she used to harvest turkey and chicken eggs." Jacky nodded, and took a deep breath as the door to the outside was opened. He winced and had to hesitate to adjust to the bright sunlight once more. Relying on Lana to do the first scan for threats, as it was harder for Jacky and his brother to adjust back and forth to starkly different light levels.
…maybe him more.
"Clear." Lana said as she put the arrow in her mouth to hold and pulled out the flare gun to send the signal to those waiting that it was clear enough.
"Let's get to the museum this way." Jake motioned to the street on the left to them, they could do a quick check on the way down to the other side of town. He scanned around the cross road they were at as his brother adjusted a little longer to the bright light. "We need to find sunglasses for you Jacky."
"I have my goggles?" Lana offered, spitting out the arrow and lifted the shaded goggles that were resting on her neck most of the time.
"I'm fine-"
"Thank you Lana its a good idea," The slightly younger brother said firmly, making Lana laugh and pull off her goggles to hand to the taller Jacky.
A little sheepish, the tallest of the three put on the goggles while he was walking to the left side of the old Inn. Noting that there was still some bricks scattered on the street. Some old piles that might have been Megan, so a fresh collapse? "I'm being ganged up on."
"Yes you are, because we looooove you Uncle." Lana laughed as she had to make her strides longer to keep up, but dodged out of the way of a swat. Her bow back in hand and scanning around, then distracted by movement of a very large ground squirrel. She traded arrows and took aim, not at the squirrel exactly, but just ahead as Blake had been teaching her to 'Bark' it.
Though there was no tree bark to hit to knock out the squirrel, it was worth a try.
"Wait a second kiddo," Jake stage whispered, he pointed ahead, "There's some broken asphalt ahead of it, let it get closer and use that to Bark it."
The three did not stop but slowed, and there was a creak of Lana's bow as she drew back, holding her position for a moment. The tich sound of the arrow being released and for a moment they held their breaths to see if it hit the animal or ahead-
"Yes!" Jacky cheered as he saw the arrow hit just ahead of the squirrel. Hard enough to impale in the old black top and knock a bit off almost at the same time the squirrel ran into it, and the arrow. "Good job Lana! I think you did it!"
Excited by the excitement shown, Lana looked up, blinking her focus back and brightened up as she hurried ahead to check. Lifting the pregnant squirrel off the ground and gave a happy yip, "I did it! Wait, do we have a little rope? Wow she's really pregnant. Maybe a cage is around…"
"We might be able to use one of the baskets Megan made that's in the museum." Jake said trotting after, he offered a small shoelace like cord to at least tie the legs together. "We'll definitely have to get the recent harvest and some of the back stock to feed people. And animals."
"I'm pretty sure the rest of the quail eggs hatched in the bunker." Lana snorted, and thanked the scarred man for taking the squirrel before fetching her arrow. Making sure it could still be used as they heard the distant clopping of hooves on the distant street.
Mary and Lucy were riding into Concord, doubled up on Buck as the moose snorted and called out.
"Over here!" Jacky called to them as they rounded the block.
"What is this?" Lana demanded as she noticed something that was not there before the last time they had been in town. She pointed to the medium area between the street and sidewalk across the street. A shady area that had both the large stump of a fallen tree, a few younger ones and between them with the grass was a cluster of mushrooms coming up.
They had closed tops, being golden and tan shades that were a new type to Lana. Another few clusters were on the old stump and almost blue-gray color with gills that almost looked like oyster mushrooms but… not. They were all healthy and happy mushrooms that just happened to stand between six inches to almost a foot tall.
"Oh," Jake blinked as he realized what Lana had spotted, smiling a bit as he shifted the squirrel, "It is about to be mushroom season."
"What?" Lana looked back, pointed with her arrow between ghoul and mushroom as Buck rumbled and trotted over to them and his human, "What? What is mushroom season? Why have I not heard of this before?"
Jake could not help but laugh at the demand before Lana had Buck's nose in her face. A different kind of demand, one for attention, "I almost forgot about it, but with spring warming things up, there's more types of mushrooms that pop up. Most are edible, or you can dry some other types for a wood replacement, at least for cooking, not building."
"I wasn't sure if you'd be interested in mushrooms." Jacky admitted, moving to help the other two girls down off the moose. Glancing over an hearing an indignant sputter.
"Why would I not be interested in mushrooms?!" Lana tossed her arms up, once her hands were freed, and then grasped Buck's massive head.
"You saw my post up my spore packs for the radaway mushrooms, I have gone hunting for them to study- and try and figure if there's something edible to us not just what the brahmin chew on...! Why would I not like mushrooms?! I'm an ecologist and botanist! I like fungus! Fungus-es? Fungi! Its a vital part of a lot of environments!"
Mary giggled despite herself, not quite sure what brought this all on but could not help her own grin at Lana's rant. Half holding onto the base of one of Buck's antlers, trying to keep him happy while waving her other arm at the big old stump. "Oh! Mushrooms! Lucy we should get some for dinner."
"Oh my gods, are those edible?!"
Lucy laughed with the group at Lana's reaction, watching Buck's tail flick excitedly. "Yeah! Both types, as long as the gold one doesn't pop its top open and the gills are black."
"Can I get spore samples? When do they spore? I need to set up what equipment I have," Lana half turned back to the little patch but was caught by Jake.
The man pulled Lana back as he grinned wide too, "Hold on! Hold on, yes you can, they spore, seed, later on. But we have a wagon to get put together. We can pick some mushrooms once on the way to the bunker's main entrance. If there's some here, there will be more on the way I bet."
"Right." Lana paused, eyes widening as she remembered what they were doing. "People, we need to help people."
"People?" Lucy echoed as Jake ushered them all back to the museum's main entrance.
"We found some hostages the Raider's had." Jacky explained, pointing to the path around the building to the open door. Lana passed Buck's reins to Mary and took off to be the one to make the run around the building to the open door. "They're coming down from radiation sickness and likely Med-X."
"Like Beth and Lance?" Lucy asked, remembering those that were almost slaves that Noel took care of. She was keeping an eye on her sister, but Mary was not limping too bad anymore and was leaning on Buck's shoulder as they moved down the block.
"Exactly," Jake nodded pointing back the way they came, "We found them stashed in the bank's second floor. It'll be easier to move people and supplies with that cart, wagon."
"Buck's going to pulling it?" Mary brightened a bit, petting the long nose before a thought hit her. "Oh dear, how many more people? Maybe we should be harvesting the bigger port-top mushrooms at any size. And get more of the razor grain back stock."
"And plant a lot of it at home." Lucy realized too, "Like a lot of if, enough to feed and get more going for the brahmin that are in milk too. We're going to be working a lot."
"Hazard of being good, and wanting honest work." Jake chuckled as he heard the door unlock, "But, I think it'll work out, and we have a bit of grace with the razor grain here. Maybe we can make a grinder for the Brahmin to use."
Mary paused what she was going to say as she saw Lana standing in the doorway, propping the doors open but also had her gloves on as she held a large golden tan mushroom that was about a foot long in the stem and the same across on the top.
"I found more mushrooms now that it's daylight." Lana said shamelessly, eyes wide and excited once done, "What is it?"
"It's a port top!" Mary Laughed, coming over after tying Buck to the street light pole to the right side of the door. He was still not allowed to walk around freely yet. "It's edible, both parts, and likes to grow around bigger trees or just in the shade from them."
There was a deep snort from Buck over to the left and a growling voice spoke up, "What is happen…happening?"
The carpenter brother jumped as did Lucy a bit, turning to see Valory balancing on all fours to keep most weight off her bad leg. The deathclaw tilting her head not seeming bothered, so likely did not find any other Raiders.
"Lana discovered new mushrooms." Jacky pointed to the young woman in question.
Golden eyes turned to her charge and arched an eye ridge at seeing Lana grinning and holding up the giant mushroom. Valory sighed, "...oh dear."
"I'm not that bad!"
"I think you are," Mary giggled as she pushed Lana back inside, "Lets go get some razorgrain bags."